Portret van een vrouw van opzij 1878 - 1938

This sensitive portrait of a woman in profile, by Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst, is all about the build-up of soft marks made with graphite on paper. I imagine the artist gently coaxing the image into being, adding layer upon layer of tone to describe the texture of her fur collar, the shadow of her headscarf, and the delicate curve of her face. What’s great here is the tension between the tight, controlled lines used to render her features, and the loose, almost scribbled marks used for the surrounding areas. Holst probably wants us to focus on the woman’s expression. That’s the thing about drawing, it’s so immediate, so direct. You can almost feel the artist’s hand moving across the page, deciding what to emphasize, what to leave out. I’m thinking about other artists who work with line like Agnes Martin or Jasper Johns. They all seem to be having a conversation about what it means to see and represent the world around them. And in the end, isn't that what art is all about? Trying to figure things out, one line, one mark at a time.